Pro Life Campaign poll finds majority against 'forcing' pro life doctors to carry out abortions
A poll commissioned by the Pro Life Campaign has found that 80% of people do not think doctors and healthcare workers should be made to carry out abortions against their conscience.
Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro Life Campaign said: “The Government’s abortion Bill contains no positive right to conscientious objection from having to perform abortions. If the Bill passes in its current form, doctors, nurses and midwives could be forced to carry out abortions regardless of their deeply held personal views on the issue.
"It’s clear from the poll findings that the public do not wish to see healthcare workers being compelled to act against their conscience.”
Dr Cullen also claims that the poll findings by Amárach show that "a slim majority" do not believe doctors opposed to abortion should have to arrange for another doctor to carry out the procedure.
She said: “The poll findings show that the overwhelming majority of the public back freedom of conscience protections in contrast to the way the Government is coercing healthcare workers to do something they believe to be abhorrent.
"What the Government is doing is unconscionable.”
The survey also shows that 60% are opposed to "taxpayer-funded" abortion.
Dr Cullen said: "This is another significant finding. The Government has made it clear that provision of abortion in Ireland is to be exclusively funded by the taxpayer and announced in last week’s Budget that €12 million is being allocated for the rollout of abortion in Ireland in 2019."
“79% of people polled said they favour a woman seeking an abortion being offered the choice of seeing an ultrasound before going through with the abortion. Minister Harris’s Bill makes no provision for facilitating this kind of basic information.
"Everything in his Bill is focussed on paving the way for abortion.”
The poll of 1,000 adults aged 18 and over was conducted in August 2018.
